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by Gamergrill



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Asra/female apprentice - Freeform, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Female Apprentice (The Arcana), Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 06:46:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15479931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamergrill/pseuds/Gamergrill
Summary: After their encounter with the red beetles, Velene feels unsettled about their appearance and tries to figure out more. Asra makes breakfast for both of them.





	Back Home

Horrifying, red beetles flew into her face, forcing their way down her throat. She clawed at her throat, feeling the thunder of thousands of wings batting inside her. Then, she woke up. Yesterday was the day Asra and Velene went to go visit the well in town. Where they had seen those creatures fly up out of the earth. She remembered the darkness her magic felt, something was causing the fine line between reality and magic to rip and it had her unsettled. Yet a deeper sensation stirred within her, something about the red beetles. She could almost fit the pieces together, but yet again any past memories alluded her. 

She hadn’t realized that she was sitting upright in bed lost in thought, until she felt a hand lightly touch hers. She looked down at the white mess, which was Asra’s hair. “Good morning,” he said absolutely exhausted. Velene smiled and held onto his hand, giving it a squeeze. 

“Good morning to you too,” she replied. Asra looked up at her and the look on his face changed to one of worry.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“I was just thinking about the beetles yesterday, and something about it has been nagging me. Like they’ve been here before, maybe?” Velene continued to get more lost in her thoughts, as Asra got out of bed and started to get ready. 

“Like if you had your old memories, you would know?” He asked sadly, he knew that this was what she was eventually getting at. It usually was when something stumped her like this.  
“Yeah, something like that.” She said getting out of bed to get dressed herself. She put on the light clothing that Asra provided when they got to the desert. The heat of the desert would have been more unbearable in her regular clothes from Vesuiva. 

Velene liked the small abode that they were staying in, yet the miles of endless desert made her miss home. The smell of spices and bread in the market, the light-hearted banter and laughter she heard in the streets, and the shop. Oh, how she missed the shop, her haven, but they had come out here for a reason. Plus, Asra had wanted her to come with him. His invitation to her was the first in a long time, if ever. 

The house now smelled of spices. As magicians, their house back home often smelled of spices and herbs, but it was always nice when they could use them personally. She softly approached the kitchen and leaned against the archway where she had a perfect view of Asra. He had not noticed her come into the room, so she admired him from this distance. Even while cooking his movements were graceful. They were fluid, his body seamlessly coordinating every action. Watching him move reminded her of magic, fluidly moving across reality, as the two worked perfectly in pair. 

She snuck up behind him, bare feet not making a sound against the floor, and slide her hand up his back. Asra jumped and let out a little scream. She giggled and turned his face towards hers, relishing in his red cheeks, and gave a quick kiss. Asra grumbled a little, something about putting bells on her. Back at the shop he had gotten accustomed to not hearing her movements, so she was happy to frighten him once again. 

She had her arms around his neck and they were both gently rocking back and forth over the stove. “What are you making? Smells delightful,” Velene said peering into the pot.

“It’s just a mess of things,” he smiled continuing to stir the pot he added, “eggs, sausage, some spices, potatoes.” He paused, “I was trying to make that scramble you liked so much back in Vesuvia, I was thinking about how much you enjoyed and thought I should try. Though I don’t know how close I’m getting.”

“The secret is to make it spicy, add some peppers,” Velene suggested. Asra nodded and went to go search for them. Velene moved away from the stove because she had heard the sound of Faust, their snake. Faust was like Velene and went mainly without being detected unless she wanted to be, but since yesterday’s events, Velene decided that she would let her magic boost her senses to see if she could hear any more beetles. 

“Friend!” The familiar said. Velene held out her arm and let the serpent snake her way around, encircling her arm. 

“Hello to you too,” Velene greeted warmly and pet the tip Faust’s nose. Faust closed her eyes in delight. The snake tended to know a little bit about a lot of things. Maybe she could give a clue to the mysterious red beetles, Velene thought. “Faust?” the snake tilted her head to the side, “do you know anything about red beetles?” She felt static, as Asra’s magic signaled him tensing up when he heard her ask the question.

“Not good,” Faust offered. The static dispersed. 

“Thanks Faust,” Velene praised, even though the information was not anything new. She sat at the table and let Faust slither off her arm. There was a stack of tarot cards on the table that she had left there last night. After they got back home, she had tried to get a read on the beetles, but it seemed the cards didn’t want to speak. Taking the stack, she began shuffling through them. She didn’t feel the cards whispering to her today either. The cards felt worn and familiar in her hands, like they had been used a long time even before she could remember. She touched the once sharp edges of the cards that were now rounded down from use, reminded that this was just another thing she couldn’t recall. Like her life before, possibly the red bugs, the cards, her relationship with Asra the list was endless, if only she could remember just a little further. It always felt like what she craved was just another day, another week, another year away.

She bit her lip in frustration. Sometimes she would get so frustrated at her lack of memory that she would scream, anger seized her and took control. She felt her jaw clench, the beetles pissed her off. Suddenly, a plate slide in front of her, and the anger faded. She smiled and looked into violet eyes. 

Then there was Asra, an endless supply of mysteries and secrets, a teacher, a lover. Just as she could feel the shift in his magic, he could feel the change in hers. He was always there for her, through the pain and suffering that was her trying to remember and the pain that came everyday life. They balanced each other well. He tended to be the charismatic one, chatting away with anyone about anything. While she waited patiently for the right time to speak, and when the opportunity came she pounced. When he was in a conversation, every thought and word was examined and refined before it left his mouth. She would do something impulsive and he would reel her back in, and she would dare him to be more spontaneous. Yet somehow, when they were more intimate with each other, she felt a residual relationship, that yet again she could not remember. 

This was what broke her, from her first memories she knew she had always looked and trusted him with something that was already deeply established. During those first few weeks she had tried to remember, she had sat there for hours in intense sharp pain from headaches trying to recall, who was this man to her? Then Asra found her one day crying and curled up in a ball, he fled to her side and soothed her pain through magic. The way he handled it and the words he had said perfectly helped her, like he had known her all his life. He tried to help her remember, but any slight pain she felt made him wince. So, she had stopped, and lived in a world that was full of familiar, foreign things. 

“Voila!” Asra presented his attempt at the Vesuvian scramble. She had to admit, it looked and smelled delicious. 

“Thank you chief,” Velene teased. She took a bite and, “wow,” she exclaimed. It wasn’t the same flavor, but it was a new kind of dish that she would now bother him to make that every day.

“Wow,” he agreed. They chatted for a little bit about what needed to be done today, but then they were silent. Not an awkward silence, but rather an appreciative silence. When they both got up to clean their dishes, she decided she should ask. He always had more knowledge on things, a fact she grew to live with and accept because he would usually tell her when she asked or when the time was right. 

“Asra?” She asked

“Mmm?” he answered spoon in mouth.

“What do you know about those beetles?”

“Oh, you’re still on that. I told you we could look into it later. Velene, honestly, I don’t really know anything about them. We don’t necessarily have the tools or library to research them right now.” He said cleaning his dish then putting it away. He looked into her eyes, and after all the time that he had spent with her knew that only the truth would please her. He grabbed her hand and pressed it against his heart. “Velene, we could stay here,” he begged, “if you wanted we could leave, I have so many places I want to show you. We could do anything.”

The offer shook Velene, normally Asra wasn’t one to run away from things. Well he did run away to distant, unknown lands all the time, but he did that to find answers that he couldn’t find at home. Now he was begging her to not do this one thing, offering her what she had dreamt ever since her magic had gotten stronger. Fantastic dreams and visions had her feeling giddy, but she knew they both needed to face reality. 

“Asra, I want that too, but what if they go and ruin everyone else’s water supply or what if they are an omen,” she shuttered remembering their terrifying presence. They both knew that she was right. Maybe after it was all said and done they could travel. Leave the shop behind, discover new places, things, and people together. She drew in closer to Asra and let her magic entangle with his. 

“We have to go back to Vesuvia.”


End file.
